Purpose is the intentional and guiding principle that connects what we do to why it matters.
Greek philosophers often discussed the concept of ‘purpose’ using the term ‘telos’ (τέλος) which means end goal or purpose. Aristotle articulated this through his theory of four causes: material, formal, efficient and final. The final purpose being the ultimate end goal e.g. an acorn becoming an oak tree. Plato believed the highest purpose of human life was the pursuit of truth and wisdom. And for the Stoics, purpose was all about living in alignment with nature and reason.
Purpose in the context of organisations and more specifically in the realm of school improvement is also not a new concept. Very few school leaders would argue against the need for clarity of purpose in their improvement efforts and we already see the word ‘purpose’ in multiple ways in our schools. For example:
-purpose of study in National Curriculum guidance
-purpose statements for trusts or individual schools
-purpose of improvement initiatives or strategic moves
I’ve been thinking a lot about purpose recently. Personally, in a more existential way and professionally in a bid to consider the more practical ways educational leaders can work with the knotty, complex and yet, beautifully simple ‘texture’ of purpose as a concept. Simon Sinek’s more recent work ‘Start with Why’ has popularised a long-held tradition of leaders deeply considering the ‘why’ of what they do, with a focus on accurately articulating and rooting their work in this ‘why’. Dr Houman Hourani (Harvard Graduate School of Education), talks about how those we lead may well ask the question ‘why do we need to do this?’ and how this is often interpreted as whining or expected discontent in the face of change. He argues however that we as leaders must be able to confidently answer this question and in his words ‘move more seamlessly between purpose and task, task and purpose.’
My thinking on this topic has led me to put together the beginnings of a framework for leaders at all levels to more practically consider their purpose through meaningful dialogue. Whether they are doing the exciting work of establishing a purpose or whether they are coming back to their purpose and evaluating the extent to which it is being fulfilled, I hope this framework serves as a useful way to structure conversations. Below is my ‘I CAN’ framework for exploring purpose. The framework might be applied in: school-wide conversations about orientation and direction of travel, departmental meetings more tightly rooted in the purpose of individual subjects or strategic conversations about the purpose of change initiatives.
Please note that the framework is in it’s first draft and I’m keen to get the conversation going about the ways it can be refined, to become a practical reflective tool for school leaders. This time of the year felt like an apt time to share the framework in the spirit of collaboration and I do hope it sees multiple iterations in the coming weeks and months, reflective of practitioners who are engaging in the important business of exploring purpose in our schools. (PDF below)
Lekha Sharma- Teacher Feature 